Zeedman
Garden Master
Okra has done very well for me started as transplants, but I start mine late (around June 1st) and transplant them as soon as they have their first leaf. I use size 32 peat strips, with plenty of extra holes punched in the bottoms for root penetration. The main advantage of starting in pots is consistent germination; heavy June rains have a bad habit of ruining direct seedings.
I plant 5-6 seeds in each pot, then thin to the strongest 3. Those 3's are planted 18" apart in the row, and I usually do double rows 24" apart. This eventually forms an unbroken leaf canopy, and has proven to be my optimal spacing. Contrary to the wide spacing I advocate for most vegetables, okra in the North benefits from crowding. Close spacing causes the plants to develop a single stalk; so the yield is early, and consistent. It is likely that plants could be spaced even more closely than what I use... crowding can cause the same early blooming as leaf pruning or root pruning, without physical damage to the plants.
The previous posters are not kidding when they mention heat - for okra, that is priority #1. Okra is one of the most cool-sensitive plants I've grown here (with eggplant a close second). It has been said jokingly that okra will wilt if you even say the word "frost", and that is not far from the truth. A couple nights below 50 F. (10 C.) can cause the plants to begin browning & shedding leaves... so where temps lower than that are common during the summer, okra could be a challenge. For those of us in the North, the best place to plant is next to a South-facing wall; the wall reflects extra heat during the day, and helps to shield from cool North winds at night.
I've also had good results using several rows of tall trellises as a wind screen, and planting cold-sensitive crops (okra, eggplant, moringa) in that sheltered location.
I don't know if this problem is due to my soil or climate; but when I first tried growing okra here, wilt was a major issue. It seemed that no matter which variety I tried (Annie, Clemson Spineless, Burgundy, and about a dozen others) the plants would begin to wilt & die shortly after flowering began. Then in Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants (a good reference book for the garden library) it listed a Japanese variety (Pentagreen) as being exceptionally cool tolerant. That proved to be true, and I am now on the 6th generation of saved seed.
Pentagreen double row
I plant 5-6 seeds in each pot, then thin to the strongest 3. Those 3's are planted 18" apart in the row, and I usually do double rows 24" apart. This eventually forms an unbroken leaf canopy, and has proven to be my optimal spacing. Contrary to the wide spacing I advocate for most vegetables, okra in the North benefits from crowding. Close spacing causes the plants to develop a single stalk; so the yield is early, and consistent. It is likely that plants could be spaced even more closely than what I use... crowding can cause the same early blooming as leaf pruning or root pruning, without physical damage to the plants.
The previous posters are not kidding when they mention heat - for okra, that is priority #1. Okra is one of the most cool-sensitive plants I've grown here (with eggplant a close second). It has been said jokingly that okra will wilt if you even say the word "frost", and that is not far from the truth. A couple nights below 50 F. (10 C.) can cause the plants to begin browning & shedding leaves... so where temps lower than that are common during the summer, okra could be a challenge. For those of us in the North, the best place to plant is next to a South-facing wall; the wall reflects extra heat during the day, and helps to shield from cool North winds at night.
I've also had good results using several rows of tall trellises as a wind screen, and planting cold-sensitive crops (okra, eggplant, moringa) in that sheltered location.
I don't know if this problem is due to my soil or climate; but when I first tried growing okra here, wilt was a major issue. It seemed that no matter which variety I tried (Annie, Clemson Spineless, Burgundy, and about a dozen others) the plants would begin to wilt & die shortly after flowering began. Then in Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants (a good reference book for the garden library) it listed a Japanese variety (Pentagreen) as being exceptionally cool tolerant. That proved to be true, and I am now on the 6th generation of saved seed.
Pentagreen double row
